iHealth: Enabling healthier living and seamless customer service

It goes without saying that customer retention should be a priority for every business. And it’s certainly easier to know “how” to do it when a business understands what their customers’ needs and expectations are.

When it comes to personal healthcare, consumers are not willing to compromise on quality or time. They want convenient access to the quality healthcare products they need and the ability to get them quickly.

Especially when they are sick, cannot leave the house and need the product as soon as possible, e-commerce turns out to be a savior for them. iHealth understands this, and it’s one of the principles that underpinned the company’s early days, when it launched in 2010 with a vision to empower people to lead healthier lives. This was demonstrated on a large scale during the pandemic, when the iHealth COVID test and non-contact thermometer became bestsellers on Amazon.com and its own website because they were critical healthcare items for a homebound, pandemic-anxious population.

Since iHealth was founded, the company has developed the world’s first Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure monitor compatible with iOS devices, and has pioneered other consumer healthcare products and medical devices, including blood glucose monitors, body analysis scales and thermometers.

It’s also worth noting that iHealth has built an award-winning, customer-friendly, integrated digital health ecosystem with a free app called “My Vitals.” Helping customers live healthier lives means iHealth aims to be there for key stages of their health journey.

Gaining customer trust

Gaining consumer trust can also be a steep uphill climb for any company, but it is an even greater challenge for healthcare manufacturers. Consumers want access to healthcare products, but surprisingly, they do not necessarily trust the broader healthcare industry. According to Salesforce Connected Health Consumer Report69% of consumers want new ways to access existing products and services in the post-pandemic era, but only 23% of them say they fully trust the healthcare industry.

iHealth has managed to double-team the competition by gaining the trust of customers not only with its innovative range of products recommended by healthcare professionals, but also by offering them excellent online shopping opportunities on its website.

iHealth understands the “how” to retain loyal customers, as well as attract and retain new ones, by taking initiatives that provide a seamless customer experience. For example, the company was an early adopter Buy with Prime when Amazon launched it in 2022. This checkout feature allows Prime members to use their Amazon account to make purchases directly from the iHealth website and enjoy Prime shopping benefits, such as fast, free shipping and free returns on eligible items.

Give your customers what they want

Why is a seemingly common benefit like free shipping important? According to studies cited by e-commerce research firm Digital Commerce 360, speed and cost of shipping are the most important factors for consumers considering an online purchase; 62% of consumers will not make a purchase from an online retailer without the promise of free shipping at checkout. Although up to three-quarters of online retailers offer free shipping, 45.1% of them require customers to meet a minimum purchase threshold to qualify for the benefit. This is not the case with Buy with PrimeiHealth customers who purchase using Buy with Prime can take advantage of free shipping with no minimum purchase required.

With Buy with Prime, iHealth customers with Prime membership can easily and securely place orders and receive them for free within one day. The increased trust and convenience of Buy with Prime has helped iHealth achieve the following goals (learn more in case study):

• 22.2% increase in conversions on iHealthlabs.com
• 81.1% increase in sales per visitor
• 46.5% increase in average order value for Buy with Prime orders

Customer retention is a critical mission

It’s no secret that consumers around the world are increasingly buying everything from baby thermometers to brand new cars online. According to research from Nasdaq, by 2040 It is estimated that e-commerce accounts for as much as 95% shopping all over the world. In the USA, Online sales increased by 44% in 2020 as the pandemic closed brick-and-mortar stores, forced people to stay home and shelter in place (and work) and rely heavily on e-commerce to access essential consumer products. During the pandemic, iHealth sold more than 1 billion at-home COVID tests online.

Any search for e-commerce sales data shows that it’s a rocket ship that will never stop. But while its explosive growth certainly bodes well for e-commerce retailers, the flip side is that as more and more businesses turn to e-commerce to turn a profit, the space will also become increasingly crowded and competitive, creating new challenges for online retailers to stand out from the competition. They will certainly need to offer an excellent customer experience, not only to attract new customers, but also to retain existing ones — something that research has shown to be increasingly important. Customer loyalty should not be overlooked or underestimated, according to various studies:

• The effectiveness of selling to an existing customer is 60–70%, while for a new customer the figure is only 5–20% (source: Marketing Metrics)
• Acquiring a new customer can cost up to 5 times more than retaining an existing one (source: Forbes)

iHealth understands the paramount importance of customer retention in implementing e-commerce features like Buy with Prime. The more a company aligns its business strategies and services to understand what customers want and demand, the greater the chance of retaining a loyal, satisfied consumer. The iHealth team doesn’t just want to enable people to live healthier lives, they want to enable them to have an exceptional customer experience.